> It’s easy for me to dissociate from the inferiority of my job because I’ve never been particularly proud of my customer-service skills.
Clearly she looks down on her job.
> well-groomed social animals with good posture and dress shoes, men who chuckle and smooth their hair back when they can’t connect to our VPN
Try to tell me with a straight face that this isn't full of judgement.
You're not even trying to give this an honest go. Look at the context for your quote:
> Our soft skills are a necessary inconvenience. We bloat payroll; we dilute conversation; we create process and bureaucracy; we put in requests for yoga classes and Human Resources. We’re a dragnet — though we tend to contribute positively to diversity metrics. There is quiet pity for the MBAs.
The "inferiority" isn't the author looking down on her job. It's Silicon Valley looking down on her job. And if you keep reading you'll see how much she appreciates her skill at something necessary, even though the business culture forces her into subservience:
> I’m good at subservience, but it isn’t what I would lead with on a first date. I enjoy translating between the software and the customers. I like breaking down information, demystifying technical processes, being one of few with this specific expertise. I like being bossy. People are interesting — unpredictable, emotional — when their expensive software product doesn’t behave as expected.
You prejudged this, looked for some easy pull quotes, and haven't even bothered to read.
The essay that was precursor to the book lacks literary references, and if anything is infused with a sense of inferiority.